Marc Munroe Dion: All politics is local, but not the campaign money

Many people will see money flowing to Flanagan from the Ocean State and think that something is rotten in Providence but, given Rhode Island's reputation for governmental honesty, there's probably nothing to worry about.

When I was a kid, it was a big world. Nobody ever thought they'd buy a car made in Korea.

Back in those days, back before reality television and yogurt in a tube, if you ran for local office, you raised the money locally. Of course, back in those days, you didn't have to leave town to see a movie.

Nowadays, it's such a small world that a guy in China can grab the paycheck right out of your hands.

So, it's no surprise that our beloved mayor, Will Flanagan, has been able to raise campaign money in Rhode Island, a state that's just a hop, skip and a cha-ching away from Fall River.

Many people will see money flowing to Flanagan from the Ocean State and think that something is rotten in Providence but, given Rhode Island's reputation for governmental honesty, there's probably nothing to worry about.

And anyway, Rhode Island isn't very far away. You can bet your pinkie ring people in Rhode Island care about what's happening in Fall River.

Turns out Flanagan's full-press fundraising in the Quahog State netted him about $7,000, which will cause some people to holler that he's "selling Fall River out" to Providence.

State Rep. Pat Haddad, D-Somerset, took $7,000 off donors who live in Boston. Is she "selling Somerset out" to Boston?

Not too long ago, Fall River had a nationwide search for a new city administrator. Just the fact that we needed a nationwide search proves that the world is getting smaller.

If that trend continues, I see Will Flanagan pulling in contributions on a global level and I see him being able to explain each and every one of those contributions.

Look for these quotes in future stories about Will Flanagan, the first "international" mayor.

"A lot of those people have the Internet now," Flanagan said, explaining a $500 contribution from the chief of a small cattle-herding tribe in Botswana. "They know about the things I've done for Fall River."

"You go in the grocery store, you buy Italian olive oil, where the hell do you think that comes from?" Flanagan said, explaining a $500 donation from a man in Palermo, Sicily. "It comes from Italy and those people are happy that I'm encouraging Fall Riverites to consume their products."

A $500 contribution from the owner of a textile factory in Shenzhen, China?

"There's a guy named Al Bania in the South End, maybe it's a mistake," Flanagan said, explaining a $1,000 contribution from the president of Albania and his wife. "There's a guy named Mo Rocco in the North End, too, so I'm hoping for a little ching-ching from North Africa."

Page 2 of 2 - Those Fall River residents who think of themselves as sophisticated are forever saying that Fall River has to break out of its shell, that we have to reach out to the big world.

And so we did. We reached out with our hands out, or at least our mayor did, continuing a long-standing Fall River tradition of taking money from anyone, just to keep the party going at home.

We take grants, we take welfare, we take state funding for cops and firefighters and schools and our grim little tourism efforts. If the outside money ever left Fall River, there'd be grass growing on South Main Street in two weeks.

Ya gotta wonder, in 20 years, is the mayor of Fall River even going to have to LIVE in Fall River? Maybe he'll just have a place in town where he can sleep if he's out late at a Fall River event but he'll have something a little more cozy in one of the suburbs.

The world is getting smaller.

But the donations are getting bigger.

Marc Munroe Dion is a Herald News columnist and reporter. Email him at mdion@heraldnews.com.